


A Frosty Interlude

by Tzapporah



Series: Gate-Broken Universe [3]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012), Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Mild Language, Muteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2018-01-09 09:39:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1144437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tzapporah/pseuds/Tzapporah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little interlude of the effect of the events of A Winter's Touchstone on Jack's believers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Personal Consequences

Cyndi stared wistfully out the window, wishing for something that just wasn't going to happen. It was finally starting to get cold in Phoenix, not that it ever got truly "cold" except for that freak ice storm a few months ago, and even that mercury drop only lasted a few hours. By now back in Iowa, snow would have been covering the sidewalks for at least a week. She loved snow; it always made everything so beautifully pristine and white, like frosting on a cake. That wasn't even counting the other upsides. Snow meant snow days, and snow days meant snowball fights, and snowball fights meant Jack. Since the move, their playtime had become limited to the two weeks of Christmas Break when they'd go back to visit her grandparents in Iowa. She was far from happy with the arrangement, but at least the anticipation of the trip each year made life in Phoenix bearable. This was why she'd been devastated last week when her mother had announced that they would not be making the Iowa trip this year. Nothing had been the same since The Accident…

She ruthlessly put thoughts of the incident and its fallout out of her mind and turned back to her homework. Maybe Romeo and Juliet would help take her mind off her own problems—through pure schadenfreude if nothing else.

Fifteen minutes later found her staring at a half-written essay on the unfairness of Juliet's situation from the learned perspective of a twelve-year-old. She was quite satisfied with much of it; the comparisons of the vacant Juliet with Bella had felt incredibly satisfying to write. She couldn't understand her classmates' obsession with those books. She  _hated_  useless heroines, an opinion she knew all of her English teachers were very familiar with and she was usually able to get a good bit of mileage out of it in her writing. Unfortunately in this case, the momentum of the rant had only carried her halfway to her goal and now she was stuck. "Okay," she said quietly to herself, "Now what?"

The rhetorical question was answered by a rap on her window. She jumped and spun towards the sudden noise, reaching for the Louisville Slugger she kept under her desk. She relaxed immediately, however, upon seeing the unexpected and welcome figure hovering outside of her window, waving energetically.

"Jack!" She exclaimed happily as she rushed to let the winter spirit in. "What are you doing in Phoenix?" she asked, wrapping the boy in a bone-crushing hug.

When no response was forthcoming, she barreled on through with her monologue as only a 12-year-old girl was able, "I thought I wasn't gonna get to see you this year 'cause Mom cancelled the Iowa trip 'cause of the money. I wasn't gonna be able to tell you about Justin's new girlfriend or that I started babysitting or how much Junior High sucks—especially English 'cause the books they have us read are majorly depressing—or ANYTHING!" When she finally stopped for breath, she noticed that Jack was looking at her with an amused expression, but there was something about it that gave her pause. Jack was almost always smiling in some way, but there was a darkness behind the smile this time…a darkness she couldn't quite place. Not only that, but the usually-boisterous and frequently-loquacious Winter Spirit hadn't made a single sound since he'd entered her room.

Jack noticed her sudden scrutiny and began to shift uncomfortably. "Jack…what's wrong? I've never seen you like this before." He looked away and pursed his lips as if trying to think of how to respond.

"Why haven't you said anything?" she finally asked with more than a hint of trepidation.

He looked up into her eyes with a calm sadness and made a cutoff gesture with his hand in front of his throat.

"What? Your voice is gone?" He nodded "Why? What happened?  _How_  could it have happened?"

A sadly bemused half-smile graced his face and he shrugged; an inexpertly-executed gesture to indicate he had no idea.

Cyndi, however, had been dealing with an angsty teenage brother for a few years now, and an injured one for a few months and wasn't fooled for a second. "Bull. You know exactly what happened. Tell me."

He ran his hand through his hair as his initial surprise at her bluff call made way for helpless frustration. She could tell he was trying to figure out how to tell her, but was limited by the very thing he was trying to explain.

"Sorry, I was being stupid. It's probably a lot harder to explain it than you can without your voice." She received a sad nod in response. "Hmm…how about…you can read and write, right?"

The boy held up a finger and thumb about an inch apart and sheepishly braced himself for her expected onslaught.

"Only a little bit?" she asked in a deadpan "You told me you've been around for over 300 years and you're only  _barely LITERATE_?" She might have hated English and writing, but she was an avid reader and the idea was a bit of an affront to her sensibilities.

A guilty smile quirked the boy's lips and he began to straighten from his defensive position as he saw her relax.

"Ok…ok…we'll just have to think of something else, then."

"Who's 'we'?" came the unexpected voice of Justin from the hallway. "Cyndi, I hope you're not voicechatting with your friends when you're supposed to be doing homework just 'cause Mom and Dad are out. They did ask me to watch—" His teasing monologue was broken off when he reached her door and saw the Winter Spirit flashing an ingratiating and sheepish grin at him with a hand upraised in greeting.

The grin quickly melted to worry, panic and a tinge of horror as Jack processed the full extent of the other boy. The teen stood—barely—heavily leaning on cane-like European-style crutches, his right leg in a heavy-duty walking-cast. He also looked thinner and less fit than before, but the worst part of it all was the cold glare the darker boy was giving the pale Guardian.

"You." He bit out with venom, and Jack's face did the impossible and paled even more, his face approaching the hue of his hair. "What are  _you_  doing here?" Guilt, pain and horror built in Jack's pale blue eyes as he processed the injuries and Justin's monologue continued. "You're the entire  _reason_  for this, you bastard. I  _saw_  you just before that truck hit us. I  _SAW_  YOU!" Justin was livid, angry tears streaming down his face, and Jack's silence only angered him more. "SAY  _SOMETHING_  YOU BASTARD!"

Cyndi couldn't keep quiet any longer. "The ice storm  _was_  you, Jack?  _Why?_  Mom and Justin almost  _died_  in that crash. Why'd you do it?"

The young Guardian stood staring at the two siblings, eyes bleak and body shaking like a cornered animal.

"Get out." Said Justin quietly, voice rising slowly in an angry crescendo. "Didn't you hear me? You're not welcome here. Just GET THE FUCK  _OUT_!"

Jack shot out the window, crystalline tears streaming behind him in his wake.


	2. The Message

The Tooth Fairy's job is to collect children's lost teeth for safekeeping and leave a small gift in exchange. Unlike Santa Claus, there were no asking for specific gifts or mini-bribes of milk and cookies. The exchange was executed like a dead drop between spies with no interaction between the parties. This was why Tooth cherished what few notes and letters her fairies did bring back to her from their rounds.

The most common of these were IOU's from children who'd accidentally swallowed their lost tooth. This was an occurrence she'd run into early in her existence and had discovered that she and all of the small fairies had a very special shared magical ability; they could magically and cleanly teleport the swallowed tooth and only the tooth out of the child and into their possession. She wasn't about to let any of the precious memories that she was Guardian of be lost or destroyed.

The second type of note was a small thank-you note written by the children, usually at the behest of parents trying to teach them manners. Notes like these were brought to her by her fairies initially so she could read them and then pinned on the wall in a large room inside her castle, treasured forever.

Occasionally, she'd get a note from a child who seemed to be crying out for someone, anyone, to help them. These she would share with the other Guardians and they would see what they were able to do for the child. Every time she received one of these notes, her heart would break a little until something was done.

In all of her centuries, these messages fell into one of these three categories, which was why the message that Baby Tooth now brought her made her fall about a foot before catching herself when her wings froze in surprise at the first sentence.

_Dear Tooth Fairy,_

_It's Toothiana, right? I really am sorry about sending you a message this way, but it was the only thing I could come up with. I kind of took advantage of a little boy that I babysit losing his tooth to get this letter to you, since I'm twelve now and losing one of my own would be a bit painful. My name is Cyndi Lorenz, and I really need to talk to you or one of the other Guardians. It's about Jack. Something happened the other day...something bad. Please, he's one of my best friends and I'm worried._

_Please send someone soon._

_P.S. I live in Phoenix now, it used to be Iowa. You should be able to find me, but watch out for my big brother…I'll explain everything._

Tooth started flittering around and becoming more and more agitated as she read the short letter. What could have happened? Was he hurt? She left the rest of the collection chores that day to her small fairies and flew as fast as she could to Santoff Clausen.

North was in his office working on his ice-sculpture prototypes when his door burst open. Expecting to see a panicking yeti, he was a bit surprised to look up from his work to see a highly-agitated Toothiana in the doorway to his office, a piece of paper clutched in her hand. "Tooth, what is it? Is something bad?"

She wordlessly pushed the paper into his hand. His eyes grew wide as he read the letter from the concerned twelve-year-old, his expression quickly mirroring the worry in Tooth's features. "Have you seen Jack in the past few days, North?" She asked when it was clear he was finished reading.

"No, but I don't see him every time he visits Pole. Phil would know; I call for him." He then proceeded to command a passing yeti to make sure Phil got there quickly.

It took less than five minutes for the yeti in question to arrive, but it felt like an hour to the agonizing Tooth. She barely even registered the mountain of fur's disheveled state; looking exhausted and with splatters of frosting hardening in different places on his body. He said something in yetish as he entered, probably an explanation and/or apology for his state and a question his boss about why he was called.

"Was Jack here in last few days?" North demanded. At the yeti's affirmative response, "Two days ago. Anything seem wrong when you see him?"

The yeti's features stretched a bit in an expression of painful sympathy and sadness as he garbled and choked out what he'd seen.

"He was curled up in a corner in his room and crying about something?" This was extremely disconcerting because Jack  _never_  let anyone see him cry. "Why you not  _tell_  me when this happen?"

The yeti's semi-defiant response was understandable to anyone. "He made you promise, didn't he?" Tooth said softly. "It's been over twenty years, and he still can't share his pain with us. What happened after that?"

North translated the yeti's answering mumbled rumbles, "Phil stayed with him until he fell asleep. Boy was gone by morning."

"Oh! We need to find him!" Exclaimed Tooth, half-sobbing, as she flitted nervously in the direction of the globe room.

North caught her by the shoulder. "Wait, I think maybe we want to talk to little Cyndi first. You know Jack never tell us anything unless he has to. Someone need to talk to her; problem is I do not know which of us she'll be able to see. The rest of us have many many believers all over, but many stop before they become teenager. Jack has small, but growing number, that keep until much older."

"Well, she sent  _me_  the letter." Tooth said defensively.

North turned his hand to a more comforting grip. "Yes, but that not necessarily mean she believes. She tried only idea she had a prayer might work quickly. No guarantee, and you cannot afford so long of a trip to find out while you're working unless absolutely have to." She gave him a pained glare, angry at the truth in his words. "I have similar problem. Most not really believe in me by twelve. Neither of us have direct contact."

"Then, Sandy?" Tooth asked and then immediately rejected. "No, she may believe in him, but she said she needed to talk, and it didn't sound like the kind of talk she'd be happy to have with pictograms. So that leaves—"

As if on cue a rabbit hole opened up in the hallway not 5 feet from them and a blue-furred head popped out. "Oi, am I late for grub?"


	3. Oh So Smart Or Oh So Pleasant

A knock heralded Cyndi's arrival in his room. "Justin…are you busy?"

Justin sighed; he'd been expecting this for the last few days; she'd been looking at him contemplatively when she thought he wasn't looking. The incident with Jack in her room had been weighing heavily on both of their minds. It wasn't as if he'd thought that Jack had been malicious, just massively irresponsible. That irresponsibility had nearly crushed his right tibia and given him multiple compound fractures through the rest of his legs. That irresponsibility had cost him his summer as well as the first month of his Junior year. That irresponsibility had probably cost him his hope of a Baseball scholarship; if the Doctors were right, he'd probably never run again, much less play Baseball. The thoughts of those costs had built and stewed inside of him over those months, so when he'd seen the cause of it all, he'd kind of lost it. After he'd calmed down, and now that he'd had a few days to process Jack's horrified and hurt reaction as well as his silence—that still rankled—he realized that something more serious than playful antics getting out of hand must have happened. Perhaps Cyndi'd learned a bit about it before Justin had broken up their little pow-wow.

"Nah, I'm just doing dallies on the hunter. Come on in." he said as he turned his chair to the door that had opened to admit his sister...trailed by the vague impression of a figure that led him to believe she'd come with one of the Guardians; good, someone who might have more information. It was odd…he  _knew_  through Jack that the others were existed, but he didn't really quite _believe_  in them anymore. "Who'd you bring with you?"

Cyndi gave a little start and shot a surprised glance at the almost-empty space next to her. "You can see him?"

His lips quirked in a little smile. "Not exactly, but I can tell he's there. Would I be right in guessing that this is about our frosty friend?"

His sister gave him a searching look. "So you do still consider him a friend?"

"I'm honestly not sure," he said, scratching his head, "even as mad as I was the other night, I was waiting and hoping, but he didn't say  _anything_. He just looked at me like a kicked puppy, which made me feel rotten for yelling at him, which made me even madder at him. I…I might be able to forgive him if he'd just explain himself, or at least apologize."

"Ah," she said, right index finger raised, "that…might be a problem. Jack conveyed a little bit of it to me that night before you came in, and Bunny filled in some of the details…" She hesitated, unsure of how to continue.

"Oh?" he said slightly skeptically, "and what did Harvey say, Elwood?"

"He  _said_ ," she growled out as she reached over and punched him in the shoulder before continuing in a more normal tone, "that Jack lost his voice."

_That_  was definitely not what he'd been expecting. "Wait, what? He didn't  _look_  sick."

"No, not sore-throat lost-his-voice, dumbass." She retorted hotly, "He  _lost_  lost it. He can't speak at all anymore."

Justin massaged his forehead, "Ok…from the top,  _how_ and  _when_  did it happen?"

He listened as she served as translator for the almost-invisible Easter Bunny. The more he listened, the more guilty he felt about what he'd said to Jack the other night. He could tell that the rabbit was leaving some of the more disturbing details out in what he was telling Cyndi, but Justin could read between the lines well enough. What he heard reminded him of the little girl Ruby from that episode of  _Firefly_ , River had said: "Her voice got scared away." And that's what it sounded like had happened to the Spirit of Winter.

When Cyndi and Bunny had reached the end of the narrative, he took a cleansing breath. "Ok," he said, clearheaded and thinking critically, "I only have one question. How does Mr. Chatterbox communicate now?"

She seemed a little taken aback by his question. "Well…um…with me he just kinda pantomimed and made facial expressions….Bunny says that's what he's seen, too."

"Mhmm…that's fine for simple stuff, but it won't do for anything more complex. Can he read?"

Cyndi winced a bit, "I asked the same thing, turns out the answer's 'a little bit'."

"'Sarite, writing everything down wouldn't fit his personality, anyway—" He smacked himself in the forehead as his face lit up in realization. "Of  _course!_  Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

"What? What?" she asked excitedly.

He turned a sly grin on his sister and the vague figure beside her. "Think he'd like to learn Sign Language?"

At that moment, he didn't care if his suggestion worked or not. The sheer joy on his sister's face at the possibility was reward enough.


	4. Confluence and Commencement

Over the years, finding Jack had become one of Bunny's more common off-season duties. The kid had a talent for hiding himself and eluding the other Guardians. Bunny's tracking abilities and sheer speed made him the most adept at finding the wayward Frost Child. Being Bunny, he complained a good deal about this fact, but he was secretly fond of the cat-and-mouse game. He would never admit to the others that he'd gotten Internet access in the Warren just so that he could use weather reports to aid him in those particular duties. The others would never really understand…and he didn't want to even imagine the teasing he'd get if they ever discovered his Angry Birds addiction. So, with a brief trip back to the Warren to make a quick search for snowfall, he popped out of a rabbit hole in Düsseldorf…and got a snowball directly in the face.

"Der Osterhase!" A half-dozen young children shrieked in delight before bombarding him with questions. "Warum sind Sie hier im Winter? Kommen Sie für eine Schneeballschlacht?"

Sputtering a little bit from the snowy onslaught, Bunny switched into German mode and said, "Noin, kleine Knöchel-Beißer, ich für moinen Freun', den Winter Kind suchen. Has' du ihn gesayhen?"

"Wer? Der Winter Kind? Wer ist das?" asked a boy confusedly.

Bunny winced a little bit at that response; the poor kid still didn't have as many believers as he should, the twinge of sympathy was softened somewhat when another child piped up, "Ooh ooh, Ich sah ihn! Er war jezt hier! Er ging so!" The excited girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she pointed westward.

"Daynke!" Said Bunny and sped off in the indicated direction. As he read, he heard the little girl excitedly speaking to the others, "Er heiβt Jack Frost. Er hat blaue Augen und weiβ Haare—"  _Chalk a few more up for Frosty,_ he thought with a grin.

A few seconds later, the teen in question came into view; carefully building up a pair of snowbanks around a group of older children, no doubt making sure there would be plenty of ammunition for a far fiercer snowball fight than he'd begun with the small children around the corner.

"Oi, Frostbite," the boy's head snapped up in surprise at the call, "when yer done there, kamere, 'cause I gotta talk ta ya." His face took on a guarded expression, as if he sensed what Bunny wanted to talk to him about and was dreading the inevitable. Seeing this, Bunny tried to soften his expression as much as possible; after all, he had good news for the Frost Child.

* * *

Jack tried to drag out his snowbank-building as long as possible. He'd not shown himself to any of the other Guardians since the encounter at the Lorenz's, and they tended to be a bit smothering when it came to problems with him. He'd been around for over 300 years, after all, and he'd never really  _needed_  help taking care of himself that entire time. Until that one…incident, he'd always managed to get himself out of the predicaments he'd found himself in, and he always recovered.

The excited overtone to Bunny's patiently-waiting posture only served to heighten Jack's dread. Just what godawful, hare-brained idea had North or Tooth (It was  _always_  one of them. Despite the term, the rabbit was the most level-headed of the bunch.) come up with now? Even with the procrastination, it was not long before he finished his labor. One of the surrounding teens beat him to the punch on initiating the fight, however. One second a snowball flew through the air and hit a girl in the back of the head and the next it was an all-out war. Jack tried to join in at first, but the patiently-waiting Bunny and the events of the last few days weighed on his mind, taking the energy and—for lack of a better word—fire out of his usual enjoyment of this pastime.

As such, less than two minutes into the fight, Jack floated/strode over to the waiting Pooka, giving the rabbit a look that plainly said, "Ok…speak your piece."

"Y'ready ta hear me out, Frostbite?" asked Bunny.

_I wouldn't've come over here if I weren't, Kangaroo._  Jack nodded his affirmation.

"Tooth got a letter today."

_Really? Tooth? That's a bit odd, but why does it apply to me?_  He furrowed his brows in curiosity at the Pooka.

"It was a strange letter, from a gel named Cyndi Lorenz."

Jack stiffened in surprise, his fight-or-flight reflexes kicking in.  _Now_  he knew what it had to do with him, and he was dreading what came next.

"She said she was worried about ya and asked ta talk ta one o' the rest o' us." His eyes were fixed on Jack's. "She tol' me wot 'appened the other night."

Jack winced involuntarily. That was definitely  _not_  an episode he'd wanted to share with the other Guardians. He'd seriously hurt and almost  _killed_  one of his own believers. Being controlled like a puppet or no, there were still things that were unforgivable.

"An' then  _I_  'ad a talk with 'er brother."

Wait, what? Jack was pretty sure that Justin didn't believe in the Easter Bunny anymore. Jack could've sworn he remembered Justin not been able to see Bunny three years ago when the kid still lived in Iowa, how did Bunny talk to him today?

"Ok, ok, Cyndi translated fo' me. 'E couldn' really see me." Bunny amended, correctly interpreting Jack's surprised expression.

"Anyway. We explained what was goin' on," Jack winced visibly; he'd been on the receiving end of the Australian's "explanations". Bunny, however, was not currently looking at the boy and missed the reaction, "and 'e wants to apologize, an'—Oi, what's that face for?" The Pooka'd finally looked towards Jack and noticed the boy's clear discomfort.

Jack gave Bunny a helpless look. How could he possibly explain why what the giant Rabbit had said bothered him? Justin was one of his oldest and most consistent believers; the two's relationship had only improved and matured as the boy had aged. As such, he was fiercely protective of the teen, even more so than any of his other precious believers. Yes, it was true that Jack was hurt by what Justin had said, but he blamed himself more for causing it than the boy for saying it.

He opened his mouth and raised his hands, trying to figure out what to say—but the words wouldn't come, just like it had been for the past two months. Even when he knew  _what_  he wanted to say, he couldn't seem to make his mouth form the words or his throat create the sounds. His head and shoulders drooped in defeat; there was no help for it. He took a deep, weary breath before looking back up at the Pooka and gesturing for him to continue.

Bunny studied him for a long moment, trying to figure out the latest chapter in the Jack-is-an-enigma saga, before choosing to avoid exacerbating the Spirit's mood further.

"—Right, anyway—I gave 'im a little rundown of the situation, an'—I gotta tell ya, Frostbite, whatcha lack in quantity you more'n make up for in quality. –'E not only understood—More'n I thought I'd let on, in fact—but 'e came up with a great idea for ya."

Jack couldn't help a swell of pride at Bunny's words about Justin, and made sure that the Pooka could definitely see that his curiosity had been piqued by that last statement.

Bunny grinned at the pale boy, "I think I'll let 'im and Cyndi tell it to ya."

Jack's mouth quirked a bit with impatience, something he knew wouldn't budge Bunny, and so tried a different tack, one that had worked a few times in the past. He gave Bunny his most adorable puppy-dog-eyes to beg for an explanation, but they had the exact opposite of the desired effect.

The Pooka simply threw his head back and laughed, "Aww nah, mate. I know lil' Cyindi's waitin' and hopin' ta see yer reaction. I ain't about ta take that kinda hope away from a kid. C'mon, Frostbite."

Quicker than Jack could react, the Rabbit had opened a hole beneath their feet and grabbed Jack's wrist, pulling the surprised boy down into the Warren after him.

* * *

*****One-and-a-half Years Later*****

"Justin Lorenz!"

Justin marched across the stage, limping a little more than usual without his cane, grinning ear-to-ear. The excited cheers from his family and the sound of pinkie-whistling from the white-haired spirit in blue—who'd braved the Arizona heat to attend—spinning in an aerial dance above the crowd filling his ears. He barely heard the rest of the words of his guidance counselor as he collected his diploma and faced the crowd. "Justin has been accepted to Ohio State University's Kinesiology program, where he intends to focus on trauma recovery."

Jack flew over to meet him as he walked off the stage, gesticulating wildly. The Winter Spirit was so excited, his signing was almost unintelligible. Justin was just barely able to make out things like " _That was awesome_!" and " _Sweet!_ " A large part of the reason Justin had decided to go into Kinesiology was the massive success his sign language suggestion had had with Jack. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Jack would take to the entire thing so well. Justin and Cyndi had convinced the ASL teacher at their school to give them weekly lessons so that they would be able to join the regular class the next year, Jack attending without the teacher's knowledge, of course. During the winter months, Jack, who was not exactly what you'd call the scholarly-type, would just sneak into the teacher's classroom and watch the lessons. Within a year, he was sneaking into college-level courses, and at Cyndi's suggestion, professional performances that boasted ASL interpreters. Cyndi and Justin had had to pull out all the stops just to keep up, but then Cyndi had taken it to the next level and began teaching it to the little kids she babysat. Before they knew it, at least rudimentary sign-language knowledge had grown into a fad, and if CNN were to be believed, a fad that was spreading, no doubt due to Jack and the efforts of the other Guardians. Apparently, the older Guardians had the ability to speak and understand any language their believers did, and had added the basic instruction of Sign Language to their efforts of building Jack's believer base; an act that had both embarrassed and deeply touched the Winter Spirit, as he'd confided in Justin earlier that year.

There was no hint of embarrassment in his behavior right now, though. Justin could only laugh at the excited spirit's antics before saying in an undertone, "and did you notice the best part, Jack?"

" _Huh?"_ Jack signed back. " _What do you mean? Did I miss them giving you an award or something?"_

Jason's grin took on a conspirational flavor. "Think about it; I know you heard it."

" _Hmm…well, you'd said you'd have a surprise for me at your graduation, but I didn't….wait, Ohio? Did she say Ohio? You're going back where it's actually going to be cold most of the year!?"_  Jack's mouth was open in shocked anticipatory happiness.

Justin's grin, if possible, grew even bigger. "Yep, that was the idea. I know it's going to be a lot harder for me to keep my belief in you going, so I want you to be around as much as possible. I'm not going to let you lose me too easily. Talk to ya more after the ceremony, go gush to Cyndi; I know she wanted to see your reaction."

" _You got it! You have no idea how much this means to me. You're the best, man!"_  Jack signed as he sped off towards Cyndi to jabber, or what they jokingly called "hand-rave" to his little sister.

Justin closed his eyes and held his new diploma-case to his chest. When he was fifteen, Jack had told him about his first believer, Jamie, and how much he'd treasured him. But Jamie had outgrown his belief in Jack partially through high school, and Jamie's little sister Sophie had done similarly. Jack had told him to let him know that it was alright and he understood that Justin would outgrow and forget him and he wanted to say goodbye while he could. Justin had adamantly refused to believe he would ever forget his best friend and vowed that  _he_  wouldn't abandon Jack like that.

The Winter Spirit had just smiled back at him, a hint of sadness about his countenance, "It's the nature of life, we all must grow and move on. I will miss you, but I will not regret or begrudge the change." It wasn't until that moment that Justin really understood that Jack was centuries older than he.

He'd glared defiantly back at the Winter Spirit before saying, "Well, I still don't think it'll actually happen, but I at the very least vow to break the record on longest-running believer. Got that?"

Jack had frozen in surprise for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing—a deep belly-laugh that would've done North proud—"Deal!"

The dying down of the cheering as the last of his classmates crossed the stage pulled Justin back to the present. "I don't care what you think, I'm not going to let myself break my original promise, Jack. I'm not going anywhere."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> German Translations:
> 
> Der Osterhase! Warum sind Sie hier im Winter? Kommen Sie für eine Schneeballschlacht?- The Easter Bunny! Why are you here in winter? Did you come for a snowball fight?
> 
> Noin, kleine Knöchel-Beißer, ich für moinen Freun', den Winter Kind suchen. Has' du ihn gesayhen?-Aussie-accented: No, little Ankle-biter, I'm looking for my friend, the Winter Child. Have ya seen him?
> 
> Wer? Der Winter Kind? Wer ist das?- Who? The Winter Child? Who's that?
> 
> Ooh ooh, Ich sah ihn! Er war jezt hier! Er ging so!-Ooh ooh, I saw him! He was just here! He went that way!
> 
> Daynke!- Aussie-accented: Thank You!
> 
> Er heiβt Jack Frost. Er hat blaue Augen und weiβ Haare— -His name's Jack Frost. He has blue eyes and white hair...


End file.
